"So, as your son, does it mean that I am also related to the royal family, so I have something to do with it?" Li Yanliang's eyes widened and he looked at his mother with a calm face.

"Well, sort of." Song Yuru thought for a while and said with a smile: "If it is about blood relationship, Your Majesty is your cousin today. …… So, you're also a royal. ”

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Li Yanliang sighed.

In other words, in the teahouse this afternoon, I just despised a child of a suspected aristocratic family. But in the blink of an eye, he has also become a member of the royal family, although the relationship is a little distant, but he has a little royal blood, isn't it?

"More than 20 years ago, in order to marry your father, my mother cut ties with the family. Since then, she has been just the wife of an ordinary officer, and she no longer has the luxury of having anything to do with the royal family. ”

"If it weren't for my grandmother's serious illness and dying, my mother would have hidden this identity forever, right?"

"Whether it's a member of the royal family or the eldest daughter of the Song family, my mother only hopes to live her own life in peace with you now, watch you marry a wife and have children, and reproduce your Li family's bloodline. When the mother is old, she can enjoy her grandchildren at home and enjoy her old age in peace. ”

"Mother is only forty years old this year, and there are endless good days waiting for you!" Li Yanliang said with relief: "When the time comes, my son will give you more than a dozen children in one go, and then let them beg for candy around you every day!" ”

"Heh......" Song Yuru smiled, reached out and patted her son's cheek gently, "You don't panic when you say this!" You are almost twenty-three years old in the blink of an eye, and you haven't even given your daughter-in-law a marriage to your mother, how can you have more than a dozen children? ”

"When a husband is in the world, he should work hard to make meritorious contributions and be the first to whip. If you don't take it now, you will be taken by others, and it will be too late to regret it. Li Yanliang smiled and said what Zhang Song said in "Three Kingdoms", "When my son becomes famous, why should he have no wife?" ”

Song Yuru was stunned when she heard this.

The young man who had just graduated from the military academy, pointed out the country and scolded Fang Xuan, also said the same thing to her. Then, he resolutely said goodbye to his newly married wife and went overseas to pursue his so-called achievements. And what she was waiting for in the end was an urn of dry bones.

"Alas......"

"Mother sighs, what?"

"You boys have made great achievements, and your mother can't stop them. But you must first leave a bloodline for your Li family to comfort your ancestors. Song Yuru said softly: "When you return to your hometown, will your mother arrange a family affair for you?" ”

"Huh?"

"What's surprising?" Song Yuru glared at her son, "You go and take a look at the neighbors, a man of your age, which one is not a group of children, and they all live a happy life around their knees?" ”

"Isn't it! As far as I know, few of the neighbors in the neighborhood are as big as me, and few of them seem to have biological children. ”

"Even if we don't have one here, there are many men in the countryside who give birth to three or four children before the age of twenty!"

“…… Okay, okay. After I return from the Chang'an Army Headquarters, I will talk about this matter, okay? ”

"You child, ......don't you want to marry a wife and have children earlier, when you are a neighbor of the neighborhood, a marriageable man? The dowry of a marriage, the house of the family, the birth of a pregnant mother, the ...... of raising a child, which one must not cost a large sum of money? So, when the marriageable men can't raise these expenses, they have to work hard to save money first. …… However, my son can rest assured that even if you do not rely on your grandfather's financial support, your mother will save enough dowry for you to marry the daughter of any family. ”

"Really?" Li Yanliang couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

"That's nature! Even if you fall in love with a woman from a wealthy family, your mother can ask for it for you. Song Yuru paused and said proudly: "With my son's character and family background, he should not lose to any nobles in the country." Even if it is a proud daughter of the royal family and a princess of Fanbang, my son can match it! ”

When talking about this topic, Li Yanliang immediately thought of the beautiful Persian princess Nasidd.

It's been two years, and I don't know what she's like now?

In fact, in recent years, with the continuous advancement of industrialization and urbanization in Qi, the age of marriage for men and women in the city has also been postponed. According to a preliminary statistic, the proportion of people aged 18-24 in the married population has dropped sharply, while the proportion of people aged 25-29 has been rising, and they have become the main force in the married population for more than ten consecutive years. Even unmarried men over the age of 30 (the number of women over the age of 30 is very small, due to the traditional concept), there is a large number.

Moreover, the rapid urbanization process has created another very serious concern for the whole society of the country, that is, the number of births in the cities is beginning to decline. You know, more than 30 years ago, the average couple had more than 5.5 children. Census data from four years ago showed that the average number of children per couple has fallen to 4.1 and continues to decline.

If this figure excludes the rural population, the urban fertility figure is likely to be even lower.

But nothing is more important to an empire that is constantly expanding its territory than having a larger population.

——

"It's so late, and the courtyard is still so lively!"

Nizan Alberman looked far away at the riverside neighborhood, where several courtyards were lit with oil lamps. The neighbors set up seven or eight tables of running water seats, large bowls of meat, large plates of vegetables, fragrant lo-mei, plates of peanuts, edamame, and more than a dozen pots of wine.

The men shouted loudly and clashed their fists, the women whispered in low voices, and the children ran happily between the tables. The aroma of meat, vegetables, and wine drifts through this lively neighborhood with the night breeze.

"Yes, I have to say that even ordinary people in the Qi country are so rich, they can have such a big feast!" Omar Barlev had a look of envy on his face, "Unlike in the Arab region, almost all the civilians, except for those tribal chiefs and local governors, live in precariousness. Even Baghdad, the pearl of the two rivers, known for its prosperity and wealth, is overshadowed by a city like Daxing. ”

"Yes, the country is not only rich, but also powerful. Mr. Sassoon has decided to make Qi our final place of residence, and I am confident that we Jews will achieve more in this country than in Baghdad. Here, we will not be discriminated against on the basis of religion or race, and our persons and property will be protected by law. This country is simply the chosen place for us Jews. ”

"So, it's time for us to think about how we can buy the entire neighborhood and use it as our future Jewish community." Speaking of this, Omar Barlev couldn't help but shake his head and said with a wry smile: "However, the asking price of the residents here is too high, far beyond the predetermined price given by Mr. Sassoon. I don't know if Mr. Sassoon will be furious when he goes back. ”

"Yes, the inhabitants here are not so much greedy as a kind of blackmail of the red fruit. Their asking price, if placed in Baghdad, would be enough to buy more than five or six times the size of that block. Perhaps, we should suggest that Mr. Sassoon change places. ”

"Nizan, I don't think your suggestion is a good idea." Omar Barlev said: "With Mr. Sassoon's obsessive character, once you look at something, you will inevitably try to get it." Even if it costs a lot more. ”

"In that case, there are only other means to be used."

"Some other means? For example......"

"In this huge city of hundreds of thousands of people, there should be many fires every year, if not every month." Nizan Alberman once again looked at the riverside neighborhood and whispered: "Some of these fires are caused by children playing with fire unconsciously, some are housewives who make fires and cook and accidentally ignite the cloth and dining cloth, and some are the poor management of the lighting and candles at night, which caused the house to catch fire. ”

"So, there's going to be a fire in this neighborhood?" Omar Barlev's face showed a hint of solemnity, "If there are too many casualties, it will inevitably attract the attention of the local police and secret agents, and maybe the cause of this matter will be thoroughly investigated." In case ......"

"So, we need to control the whole situation and not let this accident fall into a major catastrophe." Nizan Alberman smiled, a hint of cunning in his eyes, "If this neighborhood only burned down some poor people's houses, and there was no human damage, the local government would only deal with the aftermath accordingly, and would not investigate the cause." You say, what government would go out of its way to the detriment of some poor people? At that time, Mr. Sassoon will show his love and condolences in due course, donate a sum of money to the people affected by the disaster, and gain enough reputation for us Jews. ”

——

"Uncles and aunts, as well as brothers and sisters-in-law." Li Yanliang stood in the courtyard with a bowl of honey wine, and nodded to the neighbors present, "Yanliang thanks you again. During my overseas service, you took good care of my mother, so that she was warm and cold, hungry and cold, and sick. Tonight, I asked you to set up a flowing water table to celebrate Yanliang's safe return. This action, as well as this kind of friendship, made Yanliang grateful. Here, Yanliang expressed his gratitude with a bowl of wine! ”

After speaking, Li Yanliang took the bowl and drank it all.

"Good!" The men in the audience shouted hello, and then they also stood up with their wine bowls and drank their drinks.

"Yanliang, when you say these words, you are a little out of sight." Neighbor Chen Chunquan put down the wine bowl and said with a smile: "Our neighbors have been friends for more than ten or twenty years, how can you worry about trivial matters at home when you serve overseas?" Besides, our neighbors are no less favored by your mother on weekdays. Tell me, which child did not receive your mother's instruction when he went to school? During the New Year's holidays, your mother also sent rice, flour, grain, oil, seafood and fruits from the school to us from time to time. ”

"Uh......, that is, Yanliang, if you talk like this, you won't treat us as human beings!" Neighbor Kang Zhongxiang burped and said with a big tongue: "Do you know that every year during the school holidays, if your mother didn't help take care of the children in this courtyard, how could we, the parents who work in the factory, have such peace of mind!" I Lao Kang is grateful to your mother, not only to help us take care of the children, but also to take care of a meal for these little rabbits to eat at noon. I know that your mother is not uncommon for us to reciprocate, but we all remember it in our hearts. In the eyes of a few of our boys, they have long regarded your mother as the closest person. …… You say, when you serve overseas, can we let you worry about your family? ”

"Yanliang, don't worry, no matter how long you stay overseas, your family's affairs are the affairs of all our neighbors, and you will definitely not let your mother be wronged."

"Lao Xu, what you said seems to have made Yanliang serve overseas all the time! After a few years in the army, Yanliang was promoted and promoted. When I return to Hanzhou this time, I may be promoted again, and I will still stay in my homeland. In the future, Yanliang will also be a general. We can't say, we will all follow Yanliang in the future! ”

"Hehe...... Yanliang will become a general in the future, so won't our alley become a general's courtyard!"

"Come on, come on, let's give a bowl to the future general!"

"Haha...... come and salute the general for a bowl!"

"Uncles and uncles, brothers, Yanliang is ashamed!" Li Yanliang hurriedly filled the bowl with wine, then raised it and drank it with everyone.

"Since our courtyard will become a general's courtyard in the future, then we can't sell the house to those outsiders. You see, our neighborhood, backed by the Daxing River and facing the lively Mingli Street, is definitely a treasure of feng shui, and it can't be cheap for nothing! ”

"Hey, by the way, in case, if those Yi people agree to the high price we offered, will this house still refuse to sell it to them?"

"Well, it's not that it can't be considered. I think it's good if you get a lot of money and you can buy a bigger house in another neighborhood. ”

"Uncle Chen, where did the Yi people come from to buy our house?" Li Yanliang couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It seems that the Xiyi people who moved to our Qi country from some country last year heard that they were very rich, so they first bought a piece of land in the nearby Zijingang neighborhood. However, recently, they have taken a fancy to our alley again, and want to buy it together, connect it with the community on the Zijingang side, and build a large-scale temple. ”

"Jews who emigrated from Arabia." Chen Genmin held a stick and gnawed hard, and after hearing their conversation, he hurriedly interjected.

"Jews?"

"It doesn't matter what kind of Jew he is, he's all a Yiren anyway, and he looks like a face, with a big nose and green eyes."

Qi is a country of immigrants, and in addition to a large number of immigrants from the East, there are also some immigrants from India, Persia, Arabia, and Europe.

For immigrants from the East, the Qi State is generally divided into fine divisions, such as Qin, Koreans, Japanese, Annam, Siamese ......, and so on. But for those immigrants from the West, they don't bother to make a distinction, and they are collectively called Xiyi. If you are a little more detailed, at most you will be divided into Indians, Persians and Europeans, and as for which country and which ethnic group, uh, excuse me, you all look about the same, and you are all Western.

In addition, in Qi State, Chinese is the only official language, and it is the first language of people-to-people communication, and schools at all levels do not teach other foreign languages, except for the foreign language translation major that will be offered in universities, Chinese Chinese universities. Therefore, those immigrants from non-Qin countries must acquire basic Chinese writing and communication skills in a language training school in the shortest possible time, otherwise, they will not be granted full national status.

Although Qi advocates the equality of all people at the official level, in social practice, there are various kinds of discrimination and inequality. As the main ethnic group, the Han people have become the mainstream of the entire society, and there are few ethnic minorities in the cabinet, high-ranking generals in the army, and even grassroots officials in local governments and counties.

And even if those minorities join the officialdom and the military, there will be an invisible ceiling that locks the ceiling of their promotion.

Compared with the tolerant and open atmosphere for foreigners during the founding of the country, the Qi State has undoubtedly become more conservative after more than 80 years of development. Of course, this conservatism is more of a kind of arrogance in the bones. They believe that in this world, no country, any nation, will be better than the people of Qi.

(End of chapter)